Gatekeeper Saga Gwen HexerNKC 4 Nyassakaiba2000@yahoo.com Crossover: Pokemon/Real World After experiencing a traumatic seperation of her parents, Gwen Tori accidentally opens the gate to the pokemon world. Can Ash help her become a trainer and unlock the secrets of the Gatekeepers? Or will Gwen's dreams of getting home go up in smoke? WARNING A SPOILER FOR THE NEXT SEASON INCLUDING ROSTERS AND POSSIBLY TRAINERS AS WELL. IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED DON'T READ!! I AM ADDING A YAOI/YURI wARNING TO THIS FIC. NO LIkE TWO GUYS OR TWO GIRLS GETTING IT ON LEAVE, like NOW! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gwen woke two days later to the jolt of the ship nosing up to the pier in not Lillycove, but Mossdeep. "Whaaaaa?" She demanded as she sleepily looked out the window to find an island. "Where are we?" "Mossdeep city." May said, coming in with a paper cup of tea for each of them. "We had to take a detour and we'll be here for six hours while the ship both refuels and unloads cargo." "Cool. I can't wait to check it out." Gwen took the cup of tea and blushed. As she got to know the others, she'd felt herself drawn closer and closer to May. True, she was deeply attracted to Misty. But Misty also seemed, unattainable, aloof, May was a lot more accessable to Gwen. "Maybe we should head for the Mossdeep Gym?" She asked hopefully as she took a long sip. "Even if they're a little out of my league I'd love to train in the zero gravity they've got. Ever read the book Ender's Game?" "No, I don't think we have it in this dimension." May said with a sigh. "Well, it's about a Military Training School, where the students are children, born and bred to fight. And these kids have to play a training game in zero gravity, essentially laser tag. They called it the Battle Room. I'll bet I could learn a thing or two about battling in Null-G from the book." "Really? I'll show you the way to the gym then, and if they aren't there they'll be training at the space center." May agreed. Gwen closed the curtain to her bunk to dress, then called out Torchic to join her in her sightseeing. Then Gwen and May made their way through the streets of Mossdeep City to a huge building, silver in color, marked Mossdeep Pokemon Gym. Gwen tugged on the door. "It's locked." Stated a dark and melodious deep voice behind them. Gwen whirled and took in this stranger. The sword marked him as a gatekeeper. The spiky tricolored hair meant he could only be one person, and the golden pyramid shaped pendant hanging around his neck was a dead giveaway. "Er... you would be Yugi, er... or Yami... er... or whoever..." "It's Yami speaking." The stranger said with a small crook of a smile. "I'm doing a little research on pokemon related games and was hoping to catch a match. You don't mind if I film yours do I?" "Not at all, but if we're going to get to play against Liza and Tate we're going to have to head for the space center." Gwen replied. "They train up there in Null-G." "You know this person?" May asked. "By reputation only. May, this is Yami Yugi, expert gamer, from the Yugioh Universe." Gwen said with a bow in Yami's direction. "I'm Gwen, an apprentice Gatekeeper from the Inter." Gwen said with a smile in Yami's direction. "And this is May, a pokemon contest coordinator on her way to the Grand Festival." "The Grand Festival?" Yami questioned. "What's that?" "It's the contest equivalent of the League Championships." Explained May. "You can only enter after getting a certain amount of ribbons." And they started off. "So... I've never met a person from the inter." Yami said thoughtfully. "It's not so great. I just got here a week ago and I've seen more action here than I have in the past year or so of living in the inter." Gwen shook her head. "Hmmm... Is Seto lurking around the Island anywhere?" "He and Joey are off meeting with the gatekeepers from the Animorphs universe." Yami explained. "The Animorphs needed a little help with Crayak so he and Joey are helping." "Coooool." Gwen grinned. "But if you've only been a gatekeeper for a week you wouldn't be up to creating a portal yet. I'm guessing that once you've built up your strength as a pokemon trainer Misty will start your training in ernest." "What's that like?" Gwen asked him. "Nobody ever detailed it to me." "Well, you'll have to meditate to build up your lifeforce. And you'll end up fencing every day. You'll have to study. And then when you're finally ready your Master will take you to a couple of different universes to get used to gate travel. You'll learn the different Gods and Goddesses and their properties and personalities, so that you don't offend them by mistake. And you'll learn magic too." "The only spell I know so far is one to blunt a sword for practice." "Who taught you that?" Yami asked curiously. "Umi, Master Gatekeeper from Cephiro." Answered Gwen. Fog was obscuring the hill upon which the space center sat, and Gwen looked up in its direction hoping to bridge the gap to the gymleaders that were hopefully within. "So what pokemon are you going to use for the battle?" Asked Yami as they started climbing the hill. "Torchic, and probably Chikorita. Chikorita's vines could push the both of them through Null G." Gwen explained. "And they really need the experience." "Tor!" Torchic said and pointed its head in a direction off the path up the hill. A squirtle and eevee were sprawled on the ground, unconscious and injured. "Oh dear!" Gwen cried and rushed over. She scooped up both of them. "May, Yami, we'll have to put off the gym battle for now. These two need help." May nodded, leading the way through the mist to the pokemon center. "I was supposed to meet Tea here anyway." Yami sighed as they headed through the door. "Tea?" Gwen blushed at the thought of the brunette. Yami chuckled. "Yeah, she's the Journeywoman Gatekeeper. Gatekeepers get together in groups of three, Master, Journeyman or Journeywoman, and apprentice. Tea's cell is Mai, Alexis, and Tea. Mine is Seto as the Master, Joey as the apprentice, and I"m the Journeyman. There's one last cell that doesn't have any members coming here today, Jayden, Sairis and Chad." "Three cells, only three?" "Yes, for any dimension that's a lot." Explained Yami. "Here we are, the pokemon center." "Yami!" Tea called happily as she waved to them. "Tea." "Did you get success?" She asked hopefully. "Not yet, we were on our way to challenge the gymleaders when we found these two." Gwen indicated the Eevee and Squirtle." "Let me see." Nurse Joy took both of the pokemon into her arms and Gwen followed Nurse Joy to a door marked examination room. "No, you wait out here." Gwen sighed, then dug through her bag for her deck. "Wanna play?" She asked the two Duelists. "No Shadow Games attached, just the two of us and a deck of cards." "What.... are those?" May asked. "Yugioh cards. They're almost the same as Duel Monsters, same rules, but the cards have a different format." Gwen said with a smile. "That and the rareities are screwed up. They made it so that you actually /could/ have a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Which, incidentally, is my favorite Duel Monster." Gwen said as Tea took a seat across from her at the table and pulled out her Dueling Deck. "Blue eyes is powerful, but not invincible." Yami warned her. "Who /cares/ about invincibility! I just care about the coolness factor. Watch close May, Yami, can you explain to her about the rules?" May watched the duel between them, asking questions here and there about monsters and type. "These look nothing like pokemon." May commented. "I know, that's part of the mystery to us." Explained Tea. "I was hoping I'd get a pokemon for myself. That's part of why I came to the pokemon center. I'm not interested in battling, just in raising it." That was when Nurse Joy came out of the examination room. "They battled and got their heads knocked together. They even tried to continue battling once they woke up." She rolled her eyes. "I think its better if the two of them were separated." "That means that one of them goes with Yami and Tea and the other one goes with me." Said Gwen. "I've already got both an eevee and a squirtle." May agreed. "So Tea, you get to pick." "Um... Eevee was the fox like one right?" Gwen nodded. "yes, they do look like a fox." She agreed. "Then I'll take Eevee." Tea agreed. "And I get squirtle." Gwen nodded. "Both of them are back to normal." Nurse Joy handed Gwen a net ball and Tea a Luxury ball. "We were out of normal pokeballs, so these will have to do." Gwen studied the net ball closely before putting it on her belt. That was when two almost alike looking teens strode in from outside. "I'm the one who beat you I'll help you out sis." Said the boy. "I'd rather go to the pokemon center Tate." Said Liza. "Errr... are you two the gymleaders Liza and Tate?" Gwen asked just as soon as May cried out. "LIZA!!!" And glomped the girl of the pair. "May! What are you doing here?" "I'm on my way to the Grand Festival in Kanto." Replied May. "The boat has to stop in Lillycove and then a couple of stops in Johto. But enough of that. This is Gwen, Yami and Tea. Gwen was hoping /for/ a battle and Yami was hoping to /film/ the battle." Explained May. "Film one of our battles?" Tate asked curiously. "Why of course! Right Liza?" "Of course, its good publicity for the gym." Liza agreed. "Good luck!" Nurse Joy said cheerfully and went about tidying her desk. "Will we get to battle in Null G?" Gwen asked hopefully. "Sure, is this your first gym match?" Asked Liza. "Yeah, although I won a contest ribbon a couple of days ago in Slateport." "Oh, then you're not new to battling then. Just gym battling." Liza said helpfully. "We do things a little differently at the Mossdeep Gym. The battles /are/ in zero gravity. But you're only allowed two pokemon in a double battle. And a new rule, if you tie, you don't get the badge." Gwen nodded. Yami pulled a digital camcorder from a shoulder bag and started filming the conversation. Then they reached the gym. Liza and Tate led Gwen down a long corridor. "We may be elaborate on the outside of our gym, but we're pretty utilitarian inside." Said Liza as she led the way. She turned on some lights and tossed four pokeballs into the corners of the room. Four Baltoy came out of them and began to glow blue. "Okay. Tate and I will start on the other side. Just grab the bar on the cieling. They're low here for a reason." Explained Liza as she headed out and followed a long corridor to the right. "Yami, you can come in. But Tea, you'll have to stay on the observation deck. It's that spiral staircase to the right." Tate pointed to it with a wink. "I'll be rooting for you Gwen." Tea said as she headed up the stairs. "Yami!" A brown haired, tall, blue eyed boy about 16 or 17 years old and a blonde about a year or so younger came running down the cooridor. "Joey, Seto." Yami turned to greet them both, stopping the camera. "We finished with the Animorphs. Man I thought Duelmonsters were terrifying when we went to Noah's realm, but those Howlers are Nasty. No wonder Marco put out an SOS." Joey rolled his eyes. "So what's up?" "Gwen here is about to fight her first gym battle." Yami had abruptly shrunk and said, in a much lighter voice. "In Null G." "That's cool." Joey looked Gwen over. "Maybe you and I could do lunch or somtin' afterwards?" "Sorry, I'm only here for another three hours before its on to a contest in Lillycove." Gwen replied. "And I'm not your type anyway. But I'd be glad to duel though, but the cards in my dimension are a little different from yours. And the Blue Eyes are more common." She said with a wink at Seto. "That's my favorite monster actually. My favorite card's a trap though." May shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." She rolled her eyes. "Hey are you coming??" Liza called from the other end. "I'd better go." Gwen grabbed the bar and flipped herself up over the top. She came to a slow stop about midlevel. The world began to spin beneath her. But she remembered one of Ender's tips for adjusting to NG in the old book Ender's Game, the enemy gate is down. "Chikorita! Torchic!" Gwen called out her pokemon and whispered instructions to them quickly. "Right, no time limit, the challenger may use two pokemon, the gymleaders may use one each. BEGIN!" "Chika!" Chikorita used vinewhip to anchor itself to a handhold set in the wall with one vine, and took Torchic in the other. "Watcha doin' Gwen?" Asked Liza as she and Tate called out Solrock and Lunatone. "You'll see." "I get first crack! Lunatone, icebeam!" Called out Tate. "Swing Chikorita! Torchic use fire missle!" "Tor!" Chikorita spun Torchic in a spiral and launched it towards the ice beam. Torchic fired Ember and it became a spiral hail of fire. The result was that Torchic /drilled/ through the ice beam and landed a peck attack that actually left a dent in Lunatone's hide. "Chikorita! Bullet seed!" Gwen called out. "Aim for Solrock!" "Chika!" Chikorita said happily and shot bullet seed straight towards Solrock. "Solrock! Firespin!" The two attacks collided. But Gwen wasn't about to give up. "Torchic bounce back. Chikorita catch it! Chikorita and Torchic, first fire a bullet seed, then set it on fire!" Gwen told the pokemon. Chikorita aimed a bullet seed the same instant Torchic used an Ember attack. The combined attacks hit Solrock and sent it flying against the wall with a /boom!/ It dropped two feet, then seemed to shake itself free. "Lunatone, use psychic attack." Commanded Tate. "Break its grip!" "Swing tackle Chikorita!" Chikorita swung free of the handhold and went rocketting towards Lunatone. Torchic took the vine in its talons and swung. The two of them went spiraling across the null field like some oddly shaped, green and red bolo. They hit the wall and rebounded, moving straight at Lunatone and Solrock. "Now! Bullet Seed and Ember!" Gwen shouted again. Bullet seed hit Solrock, Ember hit Lunatone. Both pokemon went flying backwards into the wall, driven into it by a collision with Chikorita and Torchic. Their normally small strengths amplified by pure physics in motion, the two small starters had smacked pokemon three times their size and in an element that put them at a disadvantage, and sent them on a ricochet around the room. Yugi had to duck three firespins that nearly hit him and Lunatone went flying through the window to the observation deck. When the dust and destruction was clear both pokemon had curlicues for eyes, and Gwen's pokemon were perched in a corner above Yugi, almost wholey untouched. Liza and Tate were laughing as they called back their pokemon. "We haven't had a battle that wild in ages!" Liza giggled. "That was fun! I never thought that Chikorita's vinewhip put it at an advantage in Null." She pulled something out of the pocket of her robes. "This Mind Badge is yours! Wear it with pride." "And that's not all. Winning a gym match means that you get a monetary reward." Tate dug in his pockets and pulled out a wad of yen bills. He counted out about thirty dollars worth of yen. "This ought to get you some supplies for the road." Gwen's eyes widened as she regarded the money and the badge. "Woooow..." Gwen called back her pokemon and pushed off on a direction that would take her through the busted glass of the observation deck. "MAY! I DID IT! OH I COULD KISS YOU!! THANK YOU FOR COMING WITH ME!!!" Gwen showered May with kisses on first one cheek, then another, then her forehead. May blushed. "Gwen... er... you can... er... let go of me now. People are staring." Gwen let go and Liza giggled. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend." She told May. "She's not my girlfriend!" Gwen and May chorused. Liza giggled a little harder. "Maybe you should be." And with that she pushed off, down became down again, and the Baltoy were called back. Yugi stopped the digital camcorder and began to go back over the battle. "This will be perfect!" Yugi said as Tea, Joey and Seto leaned over his shoulders to have a look. "And it's original." "I knew what she was doing." Seto said with a shrug. "I wasn't sure it would work." "It's physics Seto." Tea argued. "Chikorita's spin put more speed on the two pokemon, increasing both momentum and velocity. It was like hitting an egg with a sledgehammer." "This is going to be an interesting story to tell Jayden, Sairus and Alexis." Tea said with a nod. Gwen sighed and led May by the hand out of the gym. "Wow... I'm glad to be out of that." "I still can't believe that Liza thought we were together." May shook her head. "We could be..." Gwen blurted. "Er... if you wanted to be?" May stared at Gwen, dumbfounded. "Tell me truthfully, /are/ you a Lesbian?" "Er... yes... I am... that's part of the reason why my dad was angry at me." Replied Gwen hurriedly and in a rush. "What's it like?" "Its..." Gwen thought for a moment, still contemplating the Mind Badge in her hand. "It's a secret close to your heart. And if somebody reveals it and you don't want it to be, it can be heartbreaking." Gwen replied. "Why, are /you?/" "I... er... promise not to tell my Dad if you meet him... but... I think I'm bisexual." May blurted. Gwen suspected that Ash was the "male" part of May's bisexuality but she didn't comment. "That's cool. You've got the best of both worlds." She reached out to pull May into a soft kiss on the cheek. May leaned into Gwen's grip, head resting on her chest for comfort. "It will be okay." May nodded and pulled away after a couple of minutes. "We have two hours, and I remember there being a sushi restaraunt not far from here." "Two hours isn't much time. Is it on the way to the pier?" "Yeah, we can get it to go." May said with a wane smile. "May..." "Hm?" "can I condider this a date?" May thought for a moment. "I'm about a year younger than you are, but yes, you can consider this a date." "Great!" Gwen cheered. "Lead the way to the Sushi!" About an hour and a half later the two of them were in Gwen's quarters on the ship, sipping tea, munching sushi, and sharing about their lives. May was appalled at the way Gwen's father had treated her and her mother. "I"m surprised that somebody as tough as Miyamoto would do something like that!" "People can be scum sometimes May." Gwen shook her head. "What about living with Norman, how's that?" "Dad's the coolest trainer on the planet!" May said fervently. "And thanks to mom I never lacked anything, not food, nor shelter, nor love. Hey, maybe after the Grand Festival he'll let you live in Petalburg with us." Suggested May. "It's a beautfiful city. There are gardens and gorgeous forests on the outskirts. Dad's coming to meet with us in Viridian City for the pokemon contest. Maybe I can convince him to let you come with us." Gwen sighed, looking out the porthole near her bed. "Yeah..." "What is it GWen?" "If I can, I'd rather go home." Gwen said softly. "I really would..." In the silence that followed the ship began to move. "I'm sure things will be okay Gwen." May told her. "But for now you need to concentrate on raising your pokemon so that you can survive as a gatekeeper." Gwen nodded sadly. Suddenly her cheeks felt wet. Gwen reached up to find tears streaming from her eyes. "It took a week, but I'm finally crying over it." Gwen said softly. May pulled the distraut teen into her arms. Jessie poked her head in. "What happened to bring on the water works?" "She's just homesick. So Jessie, what are you going to use for the pokemon contest in Lillycove?" "I'm not sure yet." Jessie replied. "I've already used both Seviper and Dustox. Meowth isn't strong enough, though I'm sure he'd win the appeals round with his ability to talk. I might borrow one of James' pokemon." "You could always try catching one at the Safari Zone. And I hear there are ghost and dark pokemon in the woods outside the city." May suggested. "You know, I think I'll try that." Jessie agreed. "I wonder what I'd catch there." "Sushi sis?" Gwen asked, offering a roll on her fork. "Don't mind if I do." Jessie sat down, taking and eating the sushi roll. "Where'd yo get this?" "At the restaurant across the street from the Mossdeep gym." Explained May. "Gwen went to the gym to fight Liza and Tate." "How did /that/ go?" Asked Jessie with an arch of her left eyebrow. "See for yourself." Gwen said as she opened her badge case and held it up for Jessie to see. Jessie saw the badge and gawked, then hugged Gwen. "You're doing so well. I'm proud of you. Mossdeep isn't anywhere near an easy gym to beat." "I managed to use their antigravity field against them." Gwen said, and explained the physics she had used to beat Liza and Tate. "It was really their psychic attack that set things moving. If they hadn't tried to dislodge Chikorita I would have lost." Jessie nodded. "I'm surprised you won there at all." Gwen looked out at the retreating Mossdeep island. It had begun to rain, a very foggy rain. "May, wanna go downstairs and train?" Gwen offered. "Let's finish the sushi first." May told Gwen. Jessie chuckled. "I can help you with that. I haven't had /good/ sushi in months. I try to cook some myself, and James has tried. But it really dosn't taste very good." Jessie took another sushi roll and munched. "Got any sashimi?" "I'm not a fan of raw fish." "Typical American." Jessie said with a yawn. Gwen's mood turned around then, and she laughed. "So, how long will we be in Lillycove?" "For three days. That's more than enough to go to the Safari Zone /and/ fight a contest match." Jessie told her. "Oh, and I still owe you a shopping trip. I heard they have a lot of pokemon dolls at the department store there. I could buy you one." "I'd like that thanks." Gwen said with a smile. It took another day or so to get to Lillycove, from which point the ship would head north to the Whirl Islands and Johto, namely Cyanwood and Olivine gym. Gwen stepped out at the port, to which point Jessie took her, to meet a Ponyta drawn shuttle out to the Safari Zone. They weren't alone, while Misty had work they had to do, and Brock wanted to stock up on food for the road, May, Gwen, Max and Ash joined Jessie and James to the Safari Park. "Wow, there's pokemon everywhere!" James exclaimed when he saw the pokemon running around the Safari park. "I wish I had the balloon with me." Jessie said longingly. "well we don't, so we'll have to catch them the old fashioned way." Meowth agreed. "Which way?" Jessie asked as she looked in the direction of a herd of Mareep. "See you then." Ash said, totally disinterested in the three Rockets. He started off in one direction. "Come on Pikachu." "Pika..." "Wait, where are you going?" May demanded. "Pikachu and I are going out on our own for awhile." Ash told them. "You two have fun." "Wait up Ash! I wanna catch some pokemon here too!" Cried Max as he ran after them. Gwen nodded. "Come on, it's our chance to be alone for awhile." May sighed in disgust. "I thought we would do this together." "Obviously not." Gwen watched Ash disappear into the bushes. "He's preoccupied." Jessie said with a knowing smile. "So shall we try to catch something?" "Teddiursa!" A Teddiursa popped out of the woods, followed by several more. "Oh wow! Let's try to catch 'em!" Meowth exclaimed. "Last time I checked 'da boss doesn't have any Teddiursa! Nor an Ursaring! An dere's enough so that each of us could catch one and still have one left over to give 'ta the boss." "Jessie's the one who needs a new pokemon." James said, taking a step back. "She can catch one." "Alright then!" Jessie took out two Safari Balls. "Too bad they confiscated our pokemon at the entrance. What's with that anyway?" She tossed the Safari Ball. "Safari ball! GO!" Gwen and May echoed the sentiment, tossing a safariball each at a Teddiursa. Jessie's two balls pinged quickly. But Gwen's rocked back and forth like a jumping bean before finally settling and May's just popped open. The Teddiursa ran like the hounds of Hell were on their heals. May growled. "Just my luck." As they continued on their way through the forest. Gwen peered around at the pokemon. "Oooh, there's a Snubble May, why don't you try to catch it?" "A snubble? Where?" Then May spotted it. "Oh my! You're so cute!" She said, running up to the Snubble and stopped in her tracks. "I was about to scoop it up, but I heard these critters can bite." She dropped a safari ball from her pouch. "Oh dear." Snubble walked right up to it and poked the button, "Snub-ble." The pokemon disappeared inside of it. "Oh wow! I caught a Snubble! Oh it's so cute!" May picked up the pokeball and brandished it Ash style for a few seconds before it disappeared to Professor Birch's lab. "Now I wanna catch a Marill!" The four trainers ventured deeper into the park. Gwen caught a Hoot Hoot and watched the ball disappear to Professor Birch's house/lab. James got his hands on a very bizzare looking pokemon called Aipom. May caught a Sunkern when she accidentally tripped on it. Suddenly, "DOUR!" A pack of Houndour came out of the bushes, surrounding them. "Doooooom!" The leader of the pack, a Houndoom, made his way to the fore of the group. "We got no choice Jessie, we gotta battle 'em." Meowth said with a shake of his head. "Dey's gonna attack us." "Right." Jessie pulled out Teddiursa's pokeball and tossed it out. "Teddiursa! Let's get to it!" "Aipom! Let's go!" James called out Aipom. "Whadduya say, take the Houndoom to da Boss when we're trew here?" Asked Meowth. "Sounds like a plan." Said Jessie with gritted teeth. "Teddiursa, start things off with Fury Swipes!" "Aipom you use Furyswipes too!" "And dat would make three of us." Meowth agreed, bearing its claws. "We have to help them somehow." Gwen told May. "But how? We don't have our pokemon!" May panicked. "So?" Gwen pulled out a Safari Ball. "I always wanted a Houndour." "You've got to be kidding me. There's how many of them?" May shook her head. "Okay, I'll try, but I can't guerantee that we'll catch all of them." Team Rocket was already catching several of the Houndour while their new pokemon kept the Houndoom busy. Gwen managed to get four Houndour before the Houndoom collapsed. The dark/fire types ran when their leader was captured. "That's a..." Something divebombed them. "Oh not again!" The Skarmory that had dive bombed them snatched at May's pouch to try and get her pokeblock case. Another Skarmory went after Gwen's backpack. Gwen tossed a Safari ball at it, missed, cursed, and tossed another. That one hit and the Skarmory went down. May had similar trouble. "Give me back my pokeblock case!" She shouted as the creature flew off in a Southerly direction. Gwen sighed in disgust and followed May after the steel type. Jessie cried out, "Hey!" And ran after them with her own pokemon. "Give me back my Pokeblock case!" Shouted May once she reached the ledge that the skarmory roosted on. Skarmory regarded May mildly and dropped the now empty pokeblock case from the cliff. The top had been torn off and the pokeblocks eaten. "Okay, now I"m angry!" May shouted as she started to climb the ledge. "I'll get you for that! That pokeblock case was a gift! And I worked hard to make the pokeblocks in it!" Gwen sweatdropped and followed May. "May you can't take it on alone!" She cried. Skarmory number one keened and dove straight down from the ledge, followed by several Murkrow. They hounded May, but mostly left Gwen alone. Big mistake. Gwen tossed three safari balls at the Murkrow, catching them cleanly. The pokeballs disappeared to Professor Birch's lab. May tossed a pokeball at the fourth, catching that. May slipped and fell a foot on the ledge before grabbing Skarmory by the neck. The pokemon sagged a few feet in the air and flew around in circles trying to dislodge a very angry May. "I put a lot of time and effort into those pokeblocks! And you're just going to eat them like candy? Well they are candy but still..." Skarmory finally fell to the ground, unable to fly with May hanging from its neck. The two faced off. May tossed a Safari Ball. And Skarmory struggled and struggled. But to no avail. The ball pinged and disappeared. "I got the other one!" Gwen said as she reached Skarmory's ledge. "You guys! There are pokemon eggs up here!" "So that's why Skarmory took the pokeblock case, it needed food to feed its mate." Meowth said as it bounced up several ledges to reach Gwen. "Waita second, this ain't no Skarmory Egg! It's yella n' black!" "May be its a Pichu egg that got mixed up or something." Gwen suggested. "Oooh and here's one that looks like a Togepi, and here's a red one, and how could a Skarmory have so many eggs that aren't its own." "It musta stolen 'dem." Said Meowth. "You gonna try and raise dese?" "The Pichu egg at least. Ash can have the red one, and May can have the Togepi." Gwen said as she scooped the eggs into her backpack. Meowth picked out one egg, a creamy white one with black markings. "I don't think Jessie or James would mind us takin dis one." The two of them slid down the steep embankment to land in a heap at Jessie and James' feet. "You two ever tink about raisin a baby pokemon?" Meowth asked as he presented Jessie and James with the egg. "I dunno what'll hatch outta it. But it's worth looken at meow?" "Meowth the Skarmory were guarding this?" Asked James as she picked up the egg. "Yup, and dere's tree more fer da twerps." Meowth replied. "Gwen! May! I heard the commotion!" Ash said as he and Max came running. "Check it out Ash." Said Gwen as she gave him the red egg. "I don't know what'll hatch from this, but do you want it? A pair of Skarmory were guarding it." Ash picked up the egg. "Wow... its pretty hard too." "And May here's one for you." She handed May the Togepi egg. "I think that one's got a Togepi inside it." "A Togepi! Way cool!" Max exclaimed. "So what did you catch Max?" "Max had better luck than I did. He caught a Marill, a Stantler, a Hoot Hoot, and a Spinarak." Ash said with pride. "I caught a Miltank, a Mareep, a Quagsire, and a Smeargle. But I really would have wanted that Spinarak." "Oh wow! My very own Togepi!" May squealed as she pulled the egg close to her. "And I get what I /think/ is a Pichu egg." Gwen emphasized. "Cool." Ash grinned. "Shall we go? We have a pokemon contest tomorrow night." May nodded. "I think he's right. We've had enough fun today." "But it was still fun ne?" Asked Gwen as she took May's hand. "Yes, it was fun." May said as she leaned affectionately on Gwen. "Okay, what's going on between you two that nobody bothered to tell me?" Max demanded. "None of your business." Snapped May as she stuck her tongue out at Max. "So what happened?" Ash asked curiously. "With the Skarmory I mean." "A skarmory stole and broke my pokeblock case, then ate everything in it." May rolled her eyes. On the way home Gwen took out her sketchbook and began to write in it. "Okay. I"m making a chart of who caught what this afternoon okay?" The chart read... ~~~~Catch~~~~~Caught By~~~~~~~Where Teddiursa Jessie On person Teddiursa May Birch's lab Teddiursa Gwen On Person Teddiursa Jessie To be sent to Boss Snubble May Birch's Lab Aipom James Person Houndoom Jessie To be sent to Boss Houndour x4 Jessie To be kept or sent to boss Houndour x3 James To be kept of sent to Boss Houndour x6 May Birch's Lab Houndour X5 Gwen Birch's Lab Skarmory May Birch's Lab Skarmory Gwen Birch's Lab Murkrow May Birch's Lab Murkrow x3 Gwen Birch's Lab Hoot-Hoot Gwen Birch's Lab Hoot-Hoot Max Person Marill Max Person Stantler Max Person Spinarak Max Birch's Lab Miltank Ash Oak's Lab Mareep Ash Oak's Lab Quagsire Ash Oak's Lab Smeargle Ash Oak's Lab Sunkern May Birch's Lab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the pokemon center Nurse Joy peered disgustedly at the broken Pokeblock case. "You can get a new one at the Lillycove Department Store. I'm sorry, but I don't know how to fix it." May looked ready to cry. "That pokeblock case was a gift!" She sobbed. "How am I going to tell the one who gave it to me that a pokemon stole it and broke it?" Nurse Joy just shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how to fix them." Drew shook his head too. "May, pokemon can sometimes break things." "Yeah, but this was a gift!" May protested. "Nurse Joy." Said a voice not ten feet away. "May I see it?" Asked a teen about eighteen or nineteen accompanied by a Metagross. "I have some superglue in my portable tool kit. Maybe that will fix it?" "You can try Steven." Nurse Joy said with a shake of her head. "I don't think it will help." "Could you try?" Asked May. "Steven its good to hear from you again. I really /could/ use the help. A Skarmory broke my pokeblock case to get to the pokeblocks in it." "The pokemon in the Safari Zone are offered pokeblocks as lures sometimes." Steven said as he held the pieces up to the light. "The Skarmory was probably spoiled." "That's one way of putting it." Misty rolled her eyes. "Thank you for helping us... Steven you said your name was?" "Yeah, let me just get out my Superglue. I'm a Master of Steel Pokemon." Explained Steven. "Although I have a couple of Rock pokemon in my team as well. Meanwhile Jessie was at the Video Phones, on line with the boss. "We've caught two new pokemon for you Boss." She said cheerfully. "One of them is very powerful, and the other has a lot of potential." "Well?" "We've caught you a Houndoom and a Teddiursa! James, send them through will you?" James nodded and a few seconds later two Safari balls popped open in the Boss' study. The Houndoom looked around him, then noticed Giovanni and growled, baring its teeth at him." "We also have five houndour ready to go to the nearest base for new recruits." Jessie said as she held up the string of Safari Balls that contained the Houndour. "Or to somebody you think deserves a dark pokemon." Giovanni nodded. "Send them right along. This /almost/ makes up for your failed mission in Hoen and your failure to capture Pikachu. Send the Houndour to our base near Mahogany Town. Tyson will take care of them there." And he signed off. So Tyson's base was the next one to get a call. "How did you get this number?" Tyson demanded. "Jessie reporting on orders from the Boss. We have a string of five Houndour to send you for new recruits." "Well, well, well, being useful for once." Tyson rolled his eyes as James sent the pokeballs to him, one by one. The Houndour came out of their pokeballs and growled at Tyson. Tyson glared at them. "None of that now! You're part of Team Rocket whether you like it or not." All five of the Houndour whimpered at the force in his tone. "Thanks Jessie, it turns out that we have five new recruits and no pokemon to give them. These will do nicely." Gwen, meanwhile, having seen May's pokeblock case fixed and set to dry, called Professor Birch. "Professor!" "Ah, Gwen, good to hear from you. How has your boatride been?" "Detoured. We spent 6 hours in Mossdeep. But I managed to get a Gymbadge! And now we're spending three days in Lillycove for a pokemon contest." "Aaaaaah, so, you seem to have caught a lot of pokemon this afternoon. Would you like to say hi to them?" "Heyla everybody." Gwen said cheerfully. Several of the pokemon she'd caught poked their heads into view and waved. "So, which one of you wants to be in the next contest?" Gwen asked hopefully. "Might I reccomend Skarmory?" Suggested Birch. "I already have a flying pokemon." Gwen pointed out. "You do have a point. Can you stick your pokedex in the slot below the screen?" Asked Birch. Gwen obeyed and after a few seconds a readout on Birch's end beeped. "Hmm... I'd reccomend that you take Houndour with you for now, and go with the Squirtle you caught at Mossdeep City." "You know? I almost forgot about it. Nurse Joy's got my pokemon for now." Gwen sighed as she sat down in a chair near the video phone. "You can use cans to do target practice with its water gun." Suggested Birch. "Or use a frisbee as a target, kind of like shooting skeet." "Yeah, that would be cool. And once she's done talking with her Dad I'm going to ask her if she'll get her Skitty to teach it Blizzard." "That's a good thing. Oh, my readout also tells me you have a pokemon egg." "That's right." "That would make a good addition to your pokemon. Baby pokemon can learn moves that they couldn't know in their evolved forms. Some that are unique to them. For example, Pichu can only learn Volt Tackle as a baby. And that's an electric move so rare that even Wattson in Mauville Gym doesn't have a pokemon that knows it." Gwen whistled appreciatively. "Okay, I think I'll take Houndour." Gwen said after considerable thought. "But I'll definately be using Squirtle in the contest." "You won't regret that decision Gwen. I don't have to be a psychic to tell you that." May was talking to her Norman. "So now I have a pokemon egg." She explained as she held it up for her father to see. "I got the Teddiursa I wanted too." "May, the Skarmory and Houndour you got will be more than enough. I'm surprised because you caught eleven pokemon." Said Norman as he read the readout. "That's more than you've caught in the past year." "And Max caught four pokemon while he was here." "FOUR??" Norman demanded. "Well, I'll leave that for him to tell me about. Max how are you!" "Great dad! The Safari Zone was awesome! There were wild pokemon everywhere!" Max exclaimed. "I told you about Mudkip, Aron and Swablu right? Well I also caught a Hoot-Hoot, Stantler, Marill and Spinarak." "Excellent job son. I'm proud of you." Norman said with a nod. "Spinerak might come in handy if you want to catch more pokemon. You could use its webbing to set traps for wild pokemon. Or Team Rocket for that matter, knowing how much you're bothered by them." "It's mostly Ash that gets bothered, but thanks for the tip Dad." Max said cheerfully. "I think I'm gonna try some of them out to see how well they battle." Norman nodded. "Now May, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Norman asked worriedly. Max backed off. "Gwen, can you come over here?" She asked, pulling Gwen over. "Dad, this is Gwen. Gwen's parents kicked her out. When we come back from the Grand Festival, can she stay with us?" May asked hopefully. "Kicked out?" Norman asked. "My dad got angry at me." Gwen said fervently. "I was all ready to go on my journey. I don't have much besides my pokemon and trainer gear, and I won't be a burdon." "You can stay as long as you want Gwen. I could always use helpers around the gym. Since May's started entering contests we've had a lot of trainers come to the gym, wondering if I'm as strong as she is." Max chuckled. "And they find out you're stronger right Dad?" Norman rolled his eyes. "Actually, they find out I'm weaker." "Weaker than May?" Demanded Max. "You actually got beaten?" "A lot of times. I also got one apprentice. His name is Wally and he's got a Kirlia and a Skitty so far as his pokemon. I'm trying to find him a moonstone so that he can evolve the Skitty, but little luck." "Dad, if I find a Moonstone its mine." May warned her father. "Right, I suppose it would be with your Skitty." Sighed Norman. "Well, Gwen you're welcome under our roof anytime you'd like." "Thanks." Gwen said with a shy smile. She turned to May. "Professor Birch wants to review your catches with you when you're done." May nodded. "That's fine. Max, why don't you tell Dad about your new pokemon. I need to speak with Birch for a moment." She followed Gwen to the phone she'd been using. "Sorry to keep you waiting Professor." "That's fine." Said Professor Birch. "So, you filled your quota of pokemon. Would you like to balence your team a little? Remember, you have a lot of Normal pokemon like your father. But the team you have now would be easily beaten by a strong fighting pokemon." A readout came up on the screen. It read... ~~~~~~~~~~May~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Starter: Combusken Team: Combusken Beautifly Skitty Bulbasaur Munchlax Squirtle Other Pokemon: Eevee Teddiursa Snubble Houndour x6 Skarmory Murkrow Holding Onto for Gwen: Milotic Eggs: 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Plus an egg. If you're not going to enter the Lillycove Contest I'd suggest you switch Munchlax or Skitty for Skarmory or Houndour. Munchlax has the muscle, and Skitty's assist attack has saved you in battle time and again. It's a very hard choice to make I know. But if you're going to be competing in the Grand Festival you should pick your team and start training /now./" Said Professor Birch. "I know its in six months, but some of the pokemon there are so strong its frightening." May drooped. "I think... I'll switch Munchlax for Skarmory." "Good choice." Agreed Birch. "Put the pokeball in the teleporter and we'll get you fixed up." The switch accomplished May pulled out Skarmory. Skarmory made a dive for May's pouch. "Oh no you don't! You're not breaking that pokeblock case /again!/" May growled. Skarmory was taken aback at her tone and stopped in its tracks. "That's right. You want pokeblocks you /ask./" May glared at the pokemon. Skarmory drooped. Was the girl still angry over that? It had to work with a trainer who was angry at it. But to the pokemon's surprise May pulled out a pokedex. "Let's see... Skarmory, you don't mind pokemon contests do you?" May asked curiously. Skarmory blinked, then shook its head. "Good, because you may be asked to enter the next one with me if I can't get Squirtle to do the appeal I want it to." May sighed as she looked through the pokedex. "Shall we go to the practice area behind the center?" She asked hopefully. Skarmory nodded and May turned to the Professor. "Thanks Professor Birch. Now we'd better get training." She sounded very cross at having to trade out Munchlax. "Did I say something wrong?" "That Skarmory broke her pokeblock case trying to steal her pokeblocks." Explained Gwen. "I see." Professor Birch sighed. "Well, do you want to make any switches?" He asked. Gwen's trainer roster came up on the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~Gwen Tori~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Starter: Torchic Team: Torchic Shellgon Altaria Chikorita Squirtle Teddiursa Other Pokemon: Houndour x5 Skarmory Hoot-Hoot Murkrow Eggs: 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If I may say so, your team is pretty stable." Replied Professor Birch. "It's the Altaria that I'm worried about. You said last time you called that it won't obey you in battle?" "That's right." Gwen said with a sigh. "It obeys me in contests, not in regular battles." "Very peculiar." Professor Birch commented. "Are you going to switch it out? Not many evolved pokemon obey a beginning trainer. Maybe send in Hoot Hoot or Murkrow instead?" Gwen shook her head. "My two favorite types are dragon and dark. If anything I'd swap Teddiursa for something. Although... Teddiursa's one of the few Normal type pokemon that I like." "It's totally up to you Gwen. And can you apologize to May for me? I wasn't trying to push her around." Professor Birch commented. Gwen nodded. "Okay, I think I'll send Teddiursa to you and use one of my Houndour. Especially now that Jessie has one." "Put Teddiursa's pokeball in the teleporter and I'll make the swap." Professor Birch agreed. Swap accomplished GWen headed out to the training field to meet May. "May, Professor Birch wanted to apologize for being pushy about the swap." "Apologize? I like Munchlax a helluva lot more than I like Skarmory." May snapped. You could tell how angry she was, May never cursed. "Who is he to tell me what pokemon I should or shouldn't have on my team?" Skarmory began to cry. It cried and wailed and moaned. Then it bowed its head for May. At the same time Altaria came out of its pokeball and bowed its head as well. "You want us to get on?" Asked Gwen. Both flying pokemon nodded. May blinked. She hadn't realized that she'd hurt Skarmory's feelings. "Sorry Skarmory." She gave Skarmory a hug before climbing onto its back. Gwen climbed onto Altaria's back. Both pokemon flapped their mighty wings and headed south. "So where are we going Skarmory?" May asked curiously. Skarmory cawed and pointed itself in a straight line towards Mount Pyre. "You do realize there are a lot of ghost pokemon there right?" May asked worriedly. Skarmory cawed again. Night descended as the mountain came closer and closer. Finally they landed on a ledge near the top. Gwen gasped, awed at the view. You could see the land on all sides, and yes the sea too. Gwen could see an area of huge trees further to the north, and rain clouds there. To the south was solid forest. Gwen squinted, and could just barely see a huge crator that had to be Sootopolis City. Then suddenly a group of pokemon approached them. Among them were Shuppet, Duskull, Poochyena, Vulpix, Wingull and Chimecho. Leading the pack was a pair of white Mightyena with almost glowing blue eyes instead of red and yellow. The pair had kids too, because you could see several white poochyena among the pack. "Move aside! Move aside! Let me through!" Came a voice that pushed through the crowd. A golden colored Ninetails pushed her way through the crowd. "AAAAAh A talking Ninetails???" Demanded May. "Wicked!" Gwen grinned. "Yes, I speak human languages." Ninetails said impatiently. "I asked Skarmory to keep an eye open for strong trainers to help us. And here you are!" "Er... help you with what?" May asked nervously. She yawned. "I have a pokemon contest tomorrow I need to rest." "If you do this for us, then I can assure you your choice of the pokemon here for the contest." Ninetails said with a low growl. "I can even enter as your contest pokemon if you'd like." May's greedy side got the better of her. "Okay, I'm listening!" "Team Magma has been trying to capture the pokemon on this mountain. If you can drive them away, you can take with you one pokemon of each of the species you see represented here as your reward." Ninetails said calmly. "IF you can drive them away." Altaria flapped its wings and creeled loudly. "Taria taria! Al altaria!" "You say that you can defeat the Magma's single handed? I would like to see you try." Ninetails replied. "Their campsite has a shield on it. The first order of business would be to take out the shield generators. But they always see a ground attack coming. We think they have a communications network of pokemon on the ground that warn them that we're coming. Whatever the reason an air attack would be the best approach." Gwen nodded, taking in the information. "We'll do what we can Ninetails." "That is all anyone can do." "As long as we're back at the Pokemon Center by the time it closes at Midnight." May said with a worried sigh. "This shall not be a problem." Ninetails replied. That was when May's stomach started to growl. "Man I haven't eaten dinner yet." Two Vulpix dragged a leaf/plate each of berries to serve the two. "For me? Thank you!" May exclaimed as she started eating them. Gwen wasn't so far behind. They called out their other pokemon and they were served as well. Though Gwen had to remind Houndour about its manners. But the berries were eaten in short order and everybody that couldn't fly was called back. "Okay. What do you want us to do?" "Fly in and use your pokemon's attacks to take out the shield generators and the sensor net. We'll take care of the Magmas." Ninetails said grimly. Gwen nodded. "Sounds simple enough." Both girls were in the air in short order, streaking towards the magma camp. There were ten grunts and an admin there. And the shield generators were out in plain sight. "This is almost too easy." Gwen commented as she circled through the darkness. "I know, it can't be too..." That was when a hapless Jigglypuff approached the shield generators. An alarm went off and the Jigglypuff was snatched up by a machine arm and about to be stuffed in a cage when... "Altaria! Hyperbeam that robotic arm." "What?" May demanded, "That's not what we're supposed to be doing!!" "I can't stand by and watch pokemon get caged. They belong free or in pokeballs. They aren't animals, they're sentient creatures, equals! Do it Altaria!" "Aaaaaallll taaaaaaa rrrriiii aaaaaaaaa!" The arm shattered and the Jigglypuff ran away at top speed into the grass. It hid behind a rock and bawled. "Where'd that Hyperbeam come from?" Demanded the Admin. Gwen ordered Altaria down. The pokemon dove, taking out three shield generators with its hyperbeam. May and Skarmory took down another three generators and the shielding was gone. "Sir! There are children riding those pokemon!" One of the grunts said as he studied the circling pokemon with binoculars. "A Skarmory and an Altaria." "Aqua uniforms?" "Negative." "Then let me speak to them when they land." The Admin said with a sneer. Gwen and May landed about two yards away from the camp. "Well well well, aren't we the big strong trainer." Said the Admin. "I'm Field Commander Tabitha, won't you join us." "I'd rather set free the pokemon you've stuck in cages!" Gwen glared. May had Combusken's pokeball in hand, ready to fight as well. "By law capturing a pokemon in a cage or a trap instead of a pokeball is classified as poaching and is punishable by up to five years in prison." She snarled. "need I go on?" "Well well, so somebody's trying to play the Heroine then?" Tabitha snickered. The grunts giggled sycophantly. "There are a lot of alternate color pokemon on this mountain. And collectors would pay a high price for just one of them." "Then you've messed with the wrong pokemon colony." Gwen glared. "And hey, isn't Tabitha a girl's name?" The grunts laughed at Gwen now. "Shut up! All of you!" "Want me to take care of them Tabitha?" Asked a really evil looking Magma, with an uneven red poncho, purple and orange hair, and gothic makeup asked. "No need Brody." Tabitha glared. "Fall back and guard the cages." "That's the first thing that's gonna go!" Gwen growled. "Altaria, use Hyperbeam to break the bars!" Unfortunately the hyperbeam bounced right off. "Tell you what... if you fight me and Brody in a double battle then we'll let the pokemon go. But if you lose, you have to join us." Said Tabitha with a sneer. "We won't lose!" May snapped. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Logfile interrupted... to be continued in chapter 5, known also as The Wrath of May's Anger. Notes; sorry folks, this chapter was getting too long. So I'm continuing it in chapter 5.